The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art to the present technology.
Infection by pathogenic organisms is one of the major causes of chronic and acute disease. In particular, infection resulting from microbial sources—such as bacteria, viruses and protozoans—continue to claim millions of lives worldwide. With microbial species increasingly becoming resistant to conventional antibiotics, it would be desirable to provide alternative and preferably prophylactic means of protecting against and fighting microbial infection. For example, intestinal bacteria are implicated increasingly as a pivotal factor in the development of Crohn's disease, but the specific components of the complex polymicrobial enteric environment driving the inflammatory response are unresolved.
E. coli infections are not uncommon in other organs or species. In particular, coliform infections have been identified in an ever increasing proportion of mastitis cases and infections of the female genital tract are often observed, and have inspired research into the pathogenesis of persistent E. coli infections. There is still debate about the precise mechanisms involved in the persistence of these infections, but it is clear that adhesion to epithelial cells and subsequent invasion of epithelial cells, together with prolonged intracellular survival of the bacteria play an important role in persistence of infection.